Archive for August, 2022

Curing Zombies at Crystal Shores

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022

Day #2-36 (Airday, 16th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): Herschel Gobinmyer awoke before dawn and starting “brewing” the magical potion that it was hoped would cure the zombie curse that was afflicting villagers in Crystal Shores. He filled the golden chalice with pure water, then lit two beeswax candles in the two gold candlesticks, one on either side of the chalice. Then, just as the sun was rising, he placed the Pendant of Winstone into the chalice. It was then a matter of waiting until sundown to see what transpired.

After different folks had been fed in different ways, depending upon their lodgings, two villagers went door to door, performing a “head count” of how many non-zombie people there were in the village. They then reported that information to Herschel at his home. Herschel was happy to see that no more zombies had been generated during the night. When party members Douag, Falafela, and Vandin had arrived at Herschel’s, he sent for Flenda and Gwenette, and for their father Vilan Deathmar. When all had arrived at Herschel’s, he put the question to them. “As you all should know by now, the instructions for using the Pendant of Winstone to effect a cure has limited uses. We do not know how many it will cure before it exhausts its magical cures. Therefore, we must decide upon a priority as to who gets cured first, and create a list for who else gets cured, in what order. This is not the easiest task in the world, but it must be done.”

Naturally, Flenda and Gwenette both wanted their mother to be at the top of the list. And naturally, everyone concurred, seeing as how the sisters had both risked their lives in order to find the cure! However, after much discussion, it was decided that Vox should take the first drink of the potion, as if he was cured they could then use his muscle to help corral other zombies. Also, it was the fact that Vox had also risked his life, and indeed, been gravely wounded, that put him at the top of the list. Herschel wrote out the list: Vox the Just; Vilanious Deathmar (mother of Flenda and Gwenette); Wider Veldar (village cleric); Melchar, Vinar, and Loftus Furrowbrow (the village tinker and his wife and young son); Sathe, Beefa, and Lido Lidorn (proprietor of the Inn of the Blushing Trout and his wife and daughter); Simius Soderman (the wife of the carpenter); Moosecavalli Wirth (proprietor of the Tavern of the Cracked Mug); two fishermen in the Cracked Mug; Cardon Dragone (the boat master); and finally six other villagers who were local farmers.

Herschel said, “I hope we don’t run out of cures before we run out of people to cure.” Everyone present at the meeting added an “Amen!” to that simple but profound statement.

Finally, sunset came, and Herschel noticed that the water in the chalice had changed to a dark burgundy color, much like wine. The potion was poured off into the small bottles that had been assembled, and it was found there were exactly 10 doses of potion available. “OK,” said Herschel. “Let’s go and visit Vox and see how it goes!” Then Herschel, followed by Falafela, Douag, and Vandin, headed over to Mylene Ackmard’s barn, where Vox was staying. Vox looked a little apprehensive just before he drank, but he said, “I’ll probably never get better without this, so I guess I’ll drink it!” Then he took the small bottle of the burgundy potion and gulped it down. “That actually tasted pretty good! it was a lot like wine, except it was saltier with a little metallic aftertaste,” said Vox. The party watched Vox intently, but after about five minutes, Vox expressed the notion that he was suddenly very sleepy. Then he lay down and was promptly asleep. “OK,” said Mylene. Let’s arrange the boxes to keep him safe and secure for the night.” Herschel said, “The directions said imbibers should be cured within one hour. Maybe we should wait before we administer any more doses?” But Flenda and Gwenette weren’t having any of the waiting game. They both wanted to cure their mother, and cure her now!

So the party then proceeded down the hill towards the Deathmar residence, where Vilanious Deathmar had been confined after she became a zombie. The party also had three of the forked sticks with the rope loops on them. Flenda and Gwenette both argued over who would get the privilege of serving the potion to their mother. Finally, their father said, “Girls, please! I will make it a fair game of chance.” With that, he picked up a few pebbles from the ground. He turned his back to his daughters, and then when he turned back around to face them, his right hand was clenched into a fist. Whichever of you can guess if the number of pebbles in my hand is odd or even can have the honor of serving the potion to your mother. Gwenette, you are younger, so you guess.” Gwenette guessed even, then Vilan opened his hand to reveal he had two pebbles, so Gwenette won the honor to serve her mother the potion.

Although the door to her house had several boards nailed over the doorway, Gwenette and Flenda pried them off with some of their father’s pry-bar type tools that were in the front yard. Their zombie mother had been attracted to the noise at the door, so when the door was pushed open, their mother walked outside, only to be immediately snared by loops from her husband Vilan, her daughter Flenda, and also by Jorgio. Gwenette then grabbed her mother’s head by the hair, then pulled her mother’s head back which forced her mother’s mouth skyward. Gwenette whispered to her mother, “Sorry, mom, I don’t want to hurt you, but this must be done!” Then, by the light of the torches held by Douag, Vandin, and Falafela, Gwenette poured the already opened bottle of the potion down her mother’s throat.

Gwenette held her mother’s head in the same position until it was clear that her mother had swallowed the potion. The loops were kept on Vilanious, and then after five minutes Vilanious’ formerly scowling face looked to be at peace, and then she closed her eyes, and her head drooped as if she were alseep. Everyone waited a couple of more minutes, and then Gwenette said, “OK, dad, help me carry her inside.” So Gwenette and Vilan carried Vilanious inside and laid her gently on her bed. Flenda followed them inside. Vilan motioned for the girls to follow him out, but Flenda said, “Sorry, but we’re staying here all night if we have to, just to watch over mom!” Then Gwenette got up and lit a couple of candles, and the sisters began their vigil over their mother.

The next stop was across the road, at the Church of Koassek where the cleric Wider Veldar had been confined. In a similar manner to the scene that had just played out at the Deathmar’s, the nailed boards were pried off the front of the church, Wider was lassoed with the rope loops on the forked sticks, and then he was forced to drink. After he passed out, he was placed in his bed, and the party re-nailed the boards on his door, just in case he wasn’t cured.

Then the party walked over to the home of the Furrowbrows. This would be a bit trickier, since there were three zombies inside the home. All six of the forked sticks were put to use, as by now more healthy villagers had joined in the procession. Two rope loops were put on to each zombie, and then they were made to drink the liquid. Since Melchar and his family were all gnomes, it was not too much of a problem to make them drink the potion. Someone in the crowd mentioned, “What do we do if not all of them are cured? What if one of them remains a zombie and attacks the others?” “Herschel answered, “That is a good question. I believe we should tie them up individually. Restrain their hands and feet, and tie them to different pieces of furniture. That should keep them from being able to attack each other. After all, none of the zombies has shown themselves to be smart enough to defeat even simple restraints. If and when they awake, cured, I’m sure they will call out for assistance!” So then the other villagers tied up the Furrowbrows as Herschel had recommended. Before heading to the next destination, Herschel asked Rivatha Kafar, the goat shepherd who lived next door, to keep an eye on the Furrowbrows. “I’ll do it!” said Rivatha, “just as soon as I can go home and bring back a lantern.”

Next, the party proceeded to the east, to the Inn of the Blushing Trout. Once again, there were three zombies to deal with, although these three were humans. Seeing as it was an inn, it was easy to lock up the three family members in three separate rooms after the cure had been applied to each of them. Finally, with one dose remaining, the party and other villagers proceeded to the lakeside cottage of the carpenter, Baduk Soderman. The Sodermans lived just north of Herschel’s cottage. Simius Soderman’s husband, Baduk, was given the honor of getting his wife to drink the potion. Then, after she was asleep, Baduk said he would watch over her for the night. That was agreeable to others, so then everyone retired from the Soderman’s house.

When the remaining members of the group gathered in the road in front of Herschel’s place, Herschel charged two villagers, Aslan Valkyie and his eldest son, with organizing a patrol, and to make the rounds of the village, just to keep an eye on things during the balance of the night. Herschel then said, “Let’s hope this really works, and that everyone is OK in the morning! As for me, I must retire as I must awake before sunrise tomorrow morning that I may start another batch of the potion!” Everyone said their good-nights, then went their separate ways. Falafela, Douag, Vandin, and Jorgio went back to their sleeping quarters in Mylene’s barn, where they took turns watching Vox during the night.

Day #2-37 (Waterday, 17th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): Early in the morning of 17th Dewsnap, Hershel Gobinmyer awoke and made his preparations to produce another batch of potion using the Pendant of Winstone and the golden chalice that had been brought back from the Tomb of Koban Hairfoot. Just after he lit the two beeswax candles and placed the pendant into the chalice that was filled with pure water, one of Aslan Valkyie’s sons, Zoan, reported the good news that all of the zombies that had been treated the previous day had been cured! Herschel was ecstatic. “My! That is wonderful news!” he exclaimed.

Although the cure was supposed to take only one hour per person, it seemed to take longer than that. Or, perhaps it had cured each of them after only one hour, but everyone who drank the potion must have slept for at least eight or ten hours afterwards. In the morning, Vox woke up and found he could stand with no difficulty at all. He was even able to release himself from the boxed-in area of Mylene’s barn in which he had been placed for safe-keeping. And in a rarity for Vox, he even offered to help Mylene with making breakfast for the folks staying at her barn. Vox peeled and diced some potatoes and sliced some bacon. Douag was watching all of this and said “Don’t overdo it, now! We don’t want you to have a relapse.”

Flenda and Gwenette were also overwhelmed with joy when their mother finally opened her eyes and spoke to them! Vilanious’s first words were, “What happened? I feel like I’ve been in a bad dream. it was like I was wandering in a thick fog, and couldn’t find my way home.” Her daughters then related the fact that Vilanious had become a zombie, and had been in that state for the last nine days. The mother then thought for a couple of minutes, and then said, “Then I guess you did find a cure, after all!?” Vilanious especially emphasized the word “did” when she spoke. Then the daughters both hugged and kissed their mother profusely. Then Flenda stayed with her mother while Gwenette went out to spread the good news.

All around the village there were cries of joy, as families were cured and reunited. Herschel made the rounds, saying, “Don’t get your hopes up too much, we have more people yet to cure!” When Wider Veldar, the cleric, awoke and found himself confined inside his church, he shouted for passers-by to let him out! Then after being released, he ran over to Hershel’s place and thanked the druid profusely. Herschel said, “You’re welcome, but you should save your real thanks for the brave adventurers who ventured forth and retrieved the Pendant of Winstone which then brewed a curative potion.” Wider said, “I will thank them, just as soon as I see them!” Then Wider went off to look for the party so he could thank them.

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Back at Crystal Shores

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022

This is more of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventures that were played in 2015-2016. Now the adventuring party is back in Crystal Shores, although Lightstep and Opalent have left the group under mysterious circumstances.

Day #2-35 (Spiritday, 15th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): The party awoke by 6:30 am after an uneventful night, ate their customary cold breakfast of hardtack and jerky, then made their preparations to depart for the last leg of their journey to Crystal Shores. The sisters, Flenda and Gwenette, were particularly excited to start because they were headed back to their home. The sisters once again saddled Vox’s horse, then helped him up into the saddle. The party made sure their fire was out before leaving camp, which was easy since the river was close at hand. Also, the day started out cool and clear, like the storm had flushed away the heat and humidity of the two previous days.

It took about two hours to journey the last five miles to Crystal Shores, and when the village came into sight, Flenda and Gwenette surged ahead of everyone else. Flenda almost forgot about her new fiancé, Jorgio, but then turned and motioned for him to catch up. Coming into town from the east, they passed by the home of the carpenter, Baduk Soderman. They noted, quite ominously, that the front door to the house had a couple of boards nailed over the doorway. But then they saw the elder druid, Herschel Gobinmyer, standing in front of his dwelling.

Flenda and Gwenette wanted to just say hello to Herschel and then continue on to their home, but Herschel made a hand gesture and asked them to stop for a moment. Said Herschel, “Girls, I’m afraid I have some bad news. Your mother has become a zombie. She turned on the morning of the day after you set off for Karnack’s castle, so she has been in that state for nine days now. Fortunately, though, your father is all right.” By then, the rest of the party had caught up and gathered around Herschel.

Herschel noted, “I see you have three fewer members in your party. Are they just lagging behind, or did some harm fall upon them?” Falafela said, “We didn’t have anyone killed, although some had severe injuries. Do you remember our dwarf friend Tureg? He was nearly killed in the tomb we went to, although he did survive. He told us at Karnack’s that he was giving up adventuring for a living. He plans to return to his home in Garzan. Also, on our way back here from Karnack’s, Opalent and Lightstep just seemed to wander off in the middle of the night. But, we did have success! Karnack told us about an artifact named the ‘Pendant of Winstone’ that was reputed to have been buried along with Koban Hairfoot in a tomb that was in the Anshar Forest. We did find that pendant, as well as a scroll that described its use. Although, we had to mark time for a day until Karnack could decipher the scroll for us. Here is what Karnack wrote down from the scroll.” At that, Falafela fished into her backpack and retrieved Karnack’s written instructions, then handed them to Herschel.

Herschel perused the instructions for the Pendant of Winstone for a moment, then said, “Do you have the Pendant? And the chalice?” At that, Flenda and Gwenette went and helped Vox down from his horse, then they rummaged through his backpack, producing the pendant and chalice. “What’s wrong with him? Can’t he walk?” asked Herschel. Vox said, “I was struck by a foul creature in the tomb. Karnack thinks it was a wight. I have lost my energy, and can barely stand without assistance, much less walk. I am really hoping that the pendant can cure me, as well as the zombies!” Herschel mused, “Hmmmmmm….”

Herschel continued, “I should let you know the situation around the village. As of this morning, we have 19 villagers who are currently zombies. I already told Flenda and Gwenette that their mother was among the zombified. The others are Simius Soderman, the carpenter’s wife. On your way into town just now, no doubt you saw that their abode was boarded up? We have basically tried to confine the zombies in whatever building they were in. Some others that were wandering around have been confined to my garden. No doubt you can see that I had to make the briars grow tall around the garden to serve as a wall?” The party noted that, indeed, the briars and brambles were about 10 feet tall all the way around the garden, although a second gate had been put at the side of Herschel’s cottage to provide an entry into the garden, as usually the garden had totally surrounded his cottage, with the gate by the road being the entry to his property.

Herschel then continued, “Alas, poor Wider Velder, our cleric, has also been stricken by the curse. Boatmaster Cardon Dragone has turned, and you of course remember your hosts from the Inn of the Blushing Trout, Sathe, Beefa, and Lido Lidorn, were all zombies before you left. Over at the Tavern of the Cracked Mug, the proprietor, Moosecavelli Wirth is a zombie, as are two fishermen. We discovered that the tinker, Melchar Furrowbrow, and his wife and son, Vinar and Loftus, are also zombies. There are six others who also are zombies. The last ones to turn did so two days ago. I am hoping we won’t have any more turn, as nobody else seems to have a sore throat or is coughing. I have also been having everyone drink from some barrels in which I conjure up some pure water. I am hoping this rainstorm that just passed through will have helped to flush away any residue from the tainted water coming from Mont du Plat.”

Flenda and Gwenette then spoke up. “We would like to go and see our parents, now.” Herschel then cautioned, “OK, go and see them, but do not approach her, and even though she may be your mother, she will attack you on sight! By the way, we have been having everyone who is not a zombie either sleep alone in a building, or else sleep in Mylene’s barn. Mylene has devised an interesting solution of using boxes, barrels, and crates to create individual sleeping compartments to ensure nobody would get attacked by any zombies while they slept.”

At that, the sisters, with Jorgio in tow, went off to find their father. Herschel invited the other four adventurers, Falafela, Douag, Vandin, and Vox, into his cottage for some spiced pumpkin ale. When all were seated within the cottage, Herschel mentioned how Mylene had fashioned some long forked sticks that could be used to herd the zombies. He also mentioned how the town blacksmith, Aslan Valkyie, fashioned some iron rings that he attached to the ends of the forks to hold a rope in a loop until it was dropped over the head of a zombie and then the rope could be pulled tight to further confine said zombie. Herschel said, “We use two or three of those forked sticks to control a zombie, then we moved them around until we could put them up in a safe place. I also had to use a couple of entangle spells to confine some roaming zombies, causing various plants to grow and twist themselves around zombie legs, until we could get the forked sticks on them.” The party then noted how they had seen one of the forked sticks leaning against the front of Herschel’s cottage, and they had all guessed that’s what its purpose was.

Since the party had arrived in town after sunrise, it was too late to start brewing a healing portion using the pendant and chalice, so the four guests chatted some more with Herschel. Falafela said, “After we brew a potion, I think it would too risky to try to pour it down the throats of the zombies without risking getting bitten. Does anyone in the village have any small bottles we could pour the potion into from the chalice?” Herschel said, that’s a very good question. I do believe the goatherd, Rivatha Kafar, has small bottles as you suggest. He sometimes sells some goat’s milk in small bottles, and of course, he always wants the bottles returned so he can use them again and again. We shall go over and ask him.”

Leaving Vox behind to rest in Herschel’s cottage, the others walked over to Rivatha’s home. Rivatha lived immediately behind the home of the Deathmars, and Vilan Deathmar, who had been standing in front of his home talking with his daughters and with Jorgio, came over to talk to the others as they were about to pass on by. “Thanks to all of you for finding a cure! I sure hope it works! Life has had lots of surprises lately, what with many villagers becoming zombies, even my dear wife (Vilan had to supress tears when he mentioned his wife), and then I find my eldest daughter wants to take a husband. I have given my approval for the union, although I want Vilanious to also give permission.” Herschel raised an eyebrow and a slight smile came upon his lips. “Ah, so Flenda is getting married. May I guess it is to this young man standing by her side?” Herschel indicated Jorgio as he spoke. “I thought something was up, what with the way those two were casting sly glances at each other!” Then, after a few more pleasantries, the party moved on.

When they came to Rivatha’s home, they knocked on the door and were pleased that a normal, unaffected human answered the door. It was Rivatha’s wife, Niccius. She invited the party in, but asked them all to please wipe their feet on the door mat, as most of the village was still muddy from yesterday’s strong rain. Inside the home, Herschel detailed the plan to create a healing potion, and that they would need to use some small bottles to make it easier to give individual doses to the zombies. Niccius said she would be glad to contribute in any way she could, and would get to washing and boiling the bottles straightaways.

After that, plans were made for Herschel to start the potion at sunrise of the next day. The bottles were all taken to Herschel’s by Rivatha later in the day. The other party members of Vandin, Douag, and Falafela, returned with Herschel to his house. They fetched Vox, helped him to mount Horse, then led Vox and Horse to Mylene Ackmard’s barn. Mylene’s face really lit up when she saw the horse that Vox was riding, but then she said, “Oh, darn! Why is it that when we finally get a horse in town that it’s not a draught horse?” After an exchange of greetings, Mylene was glad to stable Vox’s horse, and gave him a good feed of some oats after unsaddling him and giving him a rubdown and a thorough brushing. It was arranged for the party to stay in a corner of the stable, on the ground floor, instead of their old sleeping spot upstairs, as Vox was in no condition to climb ladders.

Once everything was planned out for the morrow, the party ate a good meal that Mylene prepared for them. While Jorgio had eaten a hearty dinner at Flenda’s home, with Flenda doing most of the cooking (although she had Jorgio peel some potatoes and carrots), Jorgio joined his companions at Mylene’s when it came time to go to sleep.

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Return Journey to Crystal Shores

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022

(This is more of the adventures of Douag, Falafela, Lightstep, Opalent, Vandin, and Vox using the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition rules.)

Day #2-32 (Waterday, 12th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): The party of Douag, Falafela, Flenda and Gwenette Deathmar, Jorgio, Lightstep, Opalent, Vandin Lakesplitter, and Vox the Just awoke shortly after sunrise, which was around 5:20 am. They ate a solemn breakfast of cold cereal and milk, and then they all went to see Karnack after they had eaten their fill, as word was passed to them during breakfast that Karnack had translated the scroll from Koban Hairfoot’s tomb. While Tureg joined the others for breakfast, he told them at that time that he was going to leave the adventuring life, and would somehow return to his home village of Garzan, which was next to the Burntface Volcano. Tureg then repaired to his own quarters and did not join the others when they went to see Karnack.

“Good morning!” said Karnack when the party had arrived. Standing next to Karnack was the ranger, Clayton. “Excellent news! We have determined what the scroll has to say. You all remember this, no doubt?” As he said that, Karnack passed the original scroll to the party members, or at least Clayton took the scroll from Karnack and showed it to the party members. Here is what that scroll looked like:

The scroll that was recovered from the Tomb of Koban Hairfoot

After every party member had refreshed their memory of the scroll, Karnack read them the translation:

“Behold the wondrous power of the Pendant of Winstone. It holds the cure to many diseases if only it is used properly.

To fully effect a cure you must use the Pendant with a pure gold chalice of a high value. It must not be adulturated with any base metals although it may be adorned with jewels of high value.

To use the Pendant fill the chalice with pure water. Then dip the Pendant into the chalice and leave it there from sunrise to sundown all the while keeping pure beeswax candles burning on either side of the chalice.

After sundown, the elixer is ready for consumption. Allow each of the afflicted to take one mouthful only of the elixer from the chalice and to swallow the elixir. The imbiber will be cured within one hour. They should not be active during the curing period but should rest easy.

Beware that the Pendant of Winstone cannot perform unlimited cures. When it reaches its limit of cures its stone will turn from glossy jet black to a dull gray.”

Karnack then looked up. “That appears to be all there is to it. Lightstep, you retrieved two candles from the tomb. Do you know if they are beeswax candles?” Falafela answered, “Actually, I carried the candlesticks and candles. I do not know if they are beeswax or not.” Karnack then continued, “OK, we will have to ensure you take a goodly supply of beeswax candles with you.”

The party then thanked Karnack profusely. The sisters Flenda and Gwenette, in particular, went up to Karnack and hugged and kissed him, which embarrassed Karnack just a bit. Then, the party said their goodbyes to Karnack and Clayton. Clayton said, “Have a safe trip. Make sure to keep the Braztook Hills on your left. Head due south until you reach the east-west road between Fenshaft and Ganzir-Galad, then veer to the southwest and make for the Alder Thicket. Good luck!” The party then also thanked Clayton again for his assistance in retrieving the Pendant of Winstone from the Tomb of Koban Hairfoot.

Most of the party’s backpacks were already packed for traveling, although they of necessity went to the mess hall and topped off their supply of iron rations (hard biscuits and jerky) for traveling. The party did pay for this food, although they had been fed for free during their stay at the castle. The party also purchased some more torches, even though they might not need them in the near future. The party then went to say their good-byes to Tureg, and then they assisted Vox to mount his horse, which one of the stable boys had obediantly saddled and fetched from the stable. The stable boy also gave a quick lesson in how to saddle the horse, and how to arrange the bit and bridle, then by 9 o’clock, they were on their way out of the castle.

Fortunately, the light riding horse that was purchased for Vox was quite tame, and it easily followed along with the other travellers who were all afoot. The party met the north-south road than ran south from Bridgefields after a few miles, then followed that road for about another five miles before turning towards the southwest. After about 15 miles of total travel for the day, the party camped near the road that ran to the west towards Ganzir-Galad. It had been a pleasant day of travel, with temperatures in the low 70s and with low humidity.

The party figured they weren’t in much danger, so they only posted one guard at a time. The watch order was set as: Falafela, Vandin, Douag, Lightstep, Opalent, Flenda, Jorgio, Gwenette, and Vox. Vox tied his horse to a nearby tree. Other folks gathered up some tall grass and brought it over for the horse to eat. Gwenette asked, “Hey, Vox! What’s this horse’s name?” Vox answered, “I didn’t think to ask. I guess I’ll just call him “Horse.” Since the horse was a gelding, that seemed good enough. Finally, when it got dark after 6:30 pm, most of the party slept except for the guard on duty.

Day #2-33 (Earthday, 13th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): Sometime after midnight, Flenda awoke. She thought to herself, “It seems like someone should have woke me before now to stand my guard shift.” She quietly got up and tried to look around, but the moon had already set, and the scattered clouds were obscuring some of the starlight. After Flenda accustomed her eyes to the dark for a minute or two, she quietly walked around the campsite, looking for Opalent, who was to have stood the watch before Flenda and who should have waken Flenda to stand the next watch. Flenda then walked around the camp, loudly whispering, “Opalent! Where are you!?” After circling the camp three times without receiving a response, Flenda then woke everyone else in camp. A quick head count revealed that not only was Opalent missing, but so was Lightstep! Douag quickly and gruffly said, “I woke Lightstep to serve the next watch, then I fell asleep! I don’t know what happened!” Flenda suddenly realized that Lightstep was carrying the Pendant of Winstone and the golden chalice, both of which were needed to effect the cure for the zombie curse that was afflicting her home village of Crystal Shores! Flenda blurted out, “We have to find them! They’ve taken the pendant and the chalice! We need those to help my friends in my village!” Gwenette said, “Light some torches, let’s see what we can find.”

The party did light two torches, and the first thing they noticed was that both the Pendant of Winstone and the golden chalice had been left right in the middle of their camp, and had not been taken away. The Necklace of Harbinge was not there, though, so presumably it was still around Lightstep’s neck. Flenda and Gwenette and Falafela circled the camp, looking for footprints in the dewy grass. They found the party’s footsteps coming from the northeast, but the only other footprints they found that led away from camp went straight to the road between Ganzir-Galad and Fenshaft. Jorgio said, “I’ll bet they didn’t go toward Fenshaft. Don’t you remember Tureg saying it was populated by goblins!?” The party agreed that Lightstep and Opalent must have headed off towards Ganzir-Galad, at least for a while, but they didn’t feel they had any time to track them down. As there was no evidence of any other tracks, the party concluded that the missing duo were not missing due to any foul play, but had just left of their own free will.

Since it was still a couple of hours before dawn, the party settled back down and tried to get as much more rest as they could, but hardly anyone could really get to sleep, as they all were wondering just what the heck had happened to Lightstep and Opalent.

Finally, the sun arose around quarter after five (of course, these times are all estimates, as nobody back then was wearing a watch!), and the party awoke and hastily ate some hardtack and jerky. Jorgio said, “I’ll be glad to get back to civilization where I can eat some real food!” There were several grunts of approval from the others. After the quick meal, Flenda and Gwenette helped Vox get his horse saddled, then they helped him mount his horse, then the party resumed their travel towards Crystal Shores.

The party crossed the road that ran between Ganzir-Galad and Fenshaft, then continued on towards the southwest, keeping the Braztook Hills near to their left. As the party crossed the road, Flenda and Gwenette scouted the road for about a quarter-mile in each direction. Flenda went towards the west, towards Ganzir-Galad, and Gwenette scouted towards Fenshaft, towards the east. After they were done scouting, they hurried to rejoin the party. Gwenette said, “Opalent and Lightstep did not head towards Fenshaft, or at least if they did, they did not follow the road.” Flenda then spoke,saying, “I found both of their tracks heading down the road towards Ganzir-Galad. A couple of times their tracks veered off the road but then came back on to the road a few yards farther down. I guess they had their reasons for leaving us, but it would have been nice of them to have said good-bye!”

As the party trudged on towards the southwest, the temperature kept getting warmer, and the humidity increased sharply. All were dripping in sweat, and of neccessity took more breaks than usual. Fortunately for them, too, was the fact that it was still spring, and so all of the little streams and rivulets that they encountered were full of fresh water. Finally, they left the Braztook Hills behind and headed straight for the Alder Thicket. Although it was only about four o’clock in the afternoon when they reached the edge of the thicket, they decided to camp on the edge of that jungle, rather than try to cover any more distance that day. Flenda and Gwenette made a bit of protest, as they still wanted to press on while there was daylight remaining, as they wanted to get home as soon as possible. They even begged for the others to give them the Pendant of Winstone and the golden chalice to carry so they could hurry ahead, but the others talked them out of that idea, saying it was important to stay together right now because they couldn’t be sure what would be encountered not only in Crystal Shores, but also in Mont du Plat when they passed through that latter village.

The party settled into camp, Flenda and Gwenette helped Vox to dismount his horse, then the sisters unsaddled “Horse,” as that was the horse’s name. Then they pulled up some long grass and gave Horse a thorough rubdown. Horse enjoyed that immensely. Vox was a little alarmed when the girls took the tether off Horse and let him wander a bit, so he could graze. Horse also rolled around in the grass after eating, then he came back to the party and was re-tethered to a tree. The party set the night’s watch order as: Falafela, Vandin, Douag, Flenda, Jorgio, Gwenette, and Vox. The rest of the night passed uneventfully.

Day #2-34 (Fireday, 14th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): Soon after the party awoke the next morning, while everyone was eating their customary hardtack and jerky, Jorgio stood to make an announcement. He made a gesture for Flenda to join him, and so she rose and stood by his side. Jorgio looked very solemn, “Ladies and gentlemen, I just wanted you all to know that Flenda has consented to be my bride! We plan to marry as soon as we can get her parents’ permission.” Flenda, who didn’t embarrass easily, felt her cheeks flush at the announcment. Everyone else, except Vox, who still coudn’t stand on his own, got up and congratulated the couple. Flenda then added, “He asked me when we were watching over the cyclops, while we were waiting for you all to make a reappearance. At first I told him I’d have to think about it, just to leave him hanging for a while. But I couldn’t wait more than 10 minutes before I said yes!” Gwenette then went out of camp and picked some wildflowers for Flenda’s hair, fashioning the flower stems to make a sort of tiara. Gwenette then helped weave the stems into Flenda’s hair.

For a moment, the sisters Flenda and Gwenette forgot about their hurry to return home, as they shared some sisterly hugs. Then Douag spoke, “Ladies! Don’t forget we still have a ways to travel. We should be on our way. I think it is going to storm today.” Indeed, the morning was humid and still, and what sky could be seen to the west was filled with dark, towering clouds. So Flenda and Gwenette saddled Vox’s horse, and while Flenda and Vandin were helping Vox mount Horse, Gwenette fed Horse the roots of some lacy plants she had pulled up at the same time she was gathering flowers.

The party pushed on into the jungle of Alder Thicket. They had made about 10 miles by around 3 p.m, when the clouds loosed a terrific thunderstorm upon them. About 10 minutes before the rain fell, the wind had picked up considerably, waving even large trees in its breeze. The party had just passed through Mont du Plat about the time the wind starting blowing, and they had crossed over to the south side of the south branch of the River Bushkill. They had not seen anything moving in the humid heat of Mont du Plat as they passed through, and they hadn’t been in any mood to investigate matters in that ville. When the rain came, a couple of party members wanted to return to Mont du Plat to seek shelter, but the others, particularly Flenda and Gwenette, ruled that out. Flenda said, “We have to get home first! Besides, who knows how many zombies may be hiding inside some of the buildings in Mont du Plat!?”

So the party continued marching alongside the river, but after another 10 minutes the rain came down so hard that nobody could see for more than a few feet in front of them. Vandin held his shield over his head for shelter until his arms were going numb from holding the shield in that unnatural position. Vandin yelled over the fury of the storm, “We need to stop for a while and wait this out!” So the party sheltered under some large trees that held off some of the hardest rain. Flenda and Gwenette helped Vox to dismount, then the girls were both trying to calm Horse, as he was getting spooked by the lightning flashes and the boom of the following thunder.

Finally, after an hour or so, the storm subsided as quickly as it had come on. As the storm left, so did the high humidity, for which everyone was thankful. The river was rushing much faster than before, heading towards Crystal Shores. Falafela said, “You know, if we had a boat, we would probably be in Crystal Shores in 15 minutes, the way the water is rushing so fast!” Douag countered, “Or else we’d all be drowned when the boat flipped when it hit a submerged rock!” The party then tried to shake off as much water as they could before continuing on, but after they had marched only another couple of miles, they were all feeling chilled.

Vandin and Falafela both chimed in about the same time. “The next clearing we come across, we should make camp and try to get a fire going.” “Yeah, we also should camp because it will be dark by the time we get to Crystal Shores, and since we’re not sure what to expect, I wouldn’t want to walk into a situation where the entire village was full of wandering zombies in the dark, and we’d all be exhausted and maybe too tired to fight them off!” So, despite the pleas and tears of Flenda and Gwenette, the party made camp another mile along the trail. Although the ground was thoroughly soaked, some party members, directed by Falafela, gathered up some moss and small logs to make places to sit that were off the ground. Then everyone except Vox gathered some logs for a fire. Then the battle axe of Douag was employed as a woodsman’s axe, splittling logs for a fire. Although it took some doing, with Falafela directing others as to how to find dry logs that had been under various forms of cover, eventually a fair amount of firewood was cut and stacked. Then Falafela, using her former forester skills (before she turned to thieving), kindled a fire. She did admit to cheating by first lighting one of their pitch-impregnated wooden torches, but that torch did a wonderful job of getting some kindling going, then larger and larger sticks, and then logs, until at last a quite warm and satisfying fire was built.

The sisters Flenda and Gwenette then turned their attention to Horse, rubbing him down as best they could. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much available to feed Horse as there was no grass or grain in the area of the camp, seeing as how it was in the middle of a jungle, and he eschewed the leaves that were offered him. Gwenette said, “Well, it probably won’t hurt Horse too much to go hungry for a night.” Vox then asked, “How do you two know so much about horses?” Flenda answered, “Do you remember when we met up with Jenn Jise and some other fellows on our way to Karnack’s? Do you remember us saying that our father used to ride with those rascals? Well, as young girls we got to attend to various horses. Although we don’t own any horses now ourselves, we are quite at home among them!” Gwenette added, “Yeah. Flenda, I think we need to acquire a couple of horses for ourselves, as all of this walking about is for the birds! Why should we walk when we could ride!” She said that last sentence with a wink of her eye, while gesturing towards Horse. “Wait a minute!” said Vox. “I paid for that horse, fair and square. He’s mine! You’ll have to teach me how to care for him, assuming I get cured, of course.” Gwenette quickly put Vox’s mind at ease. “Oh, don’t worry, we’re not going to take your horse. We should get our own horses, though. We also need to get some draft horses for Mylene, so she can start a caravan service to our village.”

Then sunset came, and the party settled in for their last night before they would finally arrive back in Crystal Shores. They decided that since they were about midway between both Crystal Shores and Mont du Plat, they had better have two guards awake at all times. So they set the watch order as: Falafela and Vandin, then Douag and Vox, then Flenda and Jorgio, and finally Gwenette and Falafala (again). They also improvised a barrier of branches and brambles around their camp, just to make it harder for anyone or anything to be able to sneak in unnoticed. Then they all got as much rest as they could.

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Back at Karnack’s Castle

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022

Although the following post was part of an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaign way back in 2015-2016, your friendly Dungeon Master somehow stopped posting updates after the “Tomb of Koban Hairfoot – part 4” post. So here is more of that adventure, even if it is posted six years after when these events were played out!

Day #2-30 (Spiritday, 10th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): After making it back to Karnack’s castle after having gone through the harrowing experience in the underground tomb of Koban Hairfoot, after the wounded were tended to and the scroll that possibly described how to use the Pendant of Winstone was forwarded to Karnack, the party all fell into a deep, restful sleep. In fact, while they had arrived back at the castle around noon, they were all asleep by 1:00 pm, and they all slept until well after dark.

Dungeon Master’s interlude:

Experience Points: The party racked up a fair amount of Experience Points (XP) on the adventure to the Tomb of Koban Hairfoot. They retrieved the Necklace of Harbinge, which was worth 350 Gold Pieces (GP), also the Pendant of Winstone, worth 700 GP, a fine golden chalice worth 300 GP, and two gold candlesticks, worth 20 GP each (or 40 GP total. They also found a scroll that yielded an explanation of how to use the Pendant of Winstone, that scroll was worth 100 GP. They also recovered a book that described a workout regimen that was worth 5 GP. So, treasure recovered accounted for 1,495 GP, or 1,495 XP.

As far as defeating monsters, the party was able to fool the cyclops both on their way in to and out of the dungeon. The cyclops had a total XP value of 4,832 XP; however, since they didn’t totally defeat it, the party will be awarded 10% of the value of the cyclops for each time they fooled it, in other words, they earned 483 XP x 2 = 966 XP. There were 5 undead skeletons that were destroyed in the room with Reedus’ coffin; those skeletons were worth a total of 100 XP. There was also the wight (Reedus, himself?) that was finally destroyed by Koban Hairfoot; 640 XP are awarded to the party for that wight. There were also 6 skeletal monks that were encountered but that the party did not need to fight; 30 XP were given for that encounter, especially as the party treated the skeletal monks with reverence and did not attack them (nor did the monks attack the party). There was also the matter of Lightstep praying over the bones of Koban Hairfoot; that was worth 50 XP. So, the total XP awarded for “monsters” was 1,786.

Total XP earned was thus 1,495 + 1,786 = 3,281 XP. There were of course some odd divisions of the XP. Flenda and Jorgio, for example, only shared in the XP from fooling the cyclops both times. They did not encounter anything in the dungeon itself, so did not earn any XP for anything else. Tureg was near-mortally wounded by the skeletons in the room with Reedus’ coffin, so Tureg only earned XP up to that point. Vox had earned some XP (226 XP, actually) up to the point of when he was struck by the wight. When he was struck, he lost those XP and also his previously earned 309 XP. So then Vox went to 0 XP, and could not earn any more XP.

When all of the calculating was done, here is how the XP were awarded (remember that Player Characters (Douag, Falafela, Lightstep, Opalent, Vandin, (Vox)) got full shares, while Non-Player Characters (Clayton, Flenda, Gwenette, Jorgio, Tureg) only received half shares. PC XP: Douag (515 XP, includes a 10% bonus for his 16 Strength); Falafela (469 XP); Lightstep (515 XP, includes a 10% bonus for excellent play of a cleric, what with praying over Koban Hairfoot and over slain foes); Opalent (469 XP); Vandin (469 XP). NPC XP: Clayton (234 XP); Flenda (63 XP); Jorgio (63 XP); Gwenette (234 XP); Tureg (67 XP).

The PC (PCs are bold) & NPC XP now stands at: Clayton 2,485 (Clayton is a Level 2 Ranger); Lightstep 1,120; Vandin 1,045; Falafela 1,035; Opalent 1,035; Douag 515; Tureg 338; Gwenette 295; Flenda 137; Jorgio 124; Pangborn 31; Vox 0.

(We now return you to your regular narrative.)

When the party awoke, the first thing the halfling cleric Lightstep did was to pray for new spells. He in fact prayed for three cure iight wounds spells, and when he had received the spells from his deity, he cast them upon the dwarven fighter Vandin Lakesplitter, then upon the human fighter Vox the Just, then upon the dwarven fighter Douag. The three spells cured all of the wounds of those three vailant fighters, except that Vox was still overcome by extreme fatigue.

Then the above party members, along with their companions Falafela, Flenda, Gwenette, and Jorgio, were escorted to the mess hall for a quick bite to eat that consisted of re-heated lamb stew, with strong brew to cleanse the palates of those who choose to partake of such beverages. Vox, it should be noted, still needed assistance to be able to walk. The near mortally wounded dwarven fighter Tureg was left to continue his rest, as he had not yet regained conciousness. After the quick meal, the party was ushered to Karnack’s chamber in the northeast castle tower.

When the party were all seated before Karnack, he spoke. “Clayton tells me you had success in finding the Pendant of Winstone. Excellent! He also tells me you ran into a very foul creature that struck yon Vox a damaging blow, and that the bones of Koban Hairfoot himself came back to life to slay the creature! What an adventure that must have been! Please, tell me more about what transpired at the tomb of Koban Hairfoot.”

Everyone tried to respond at once, then Karnack held up his hand and calmly stated, “Please! One at a time!” After each person had given a short report of what they had experienced in the dungeon, Karnack asked, “Clayton also told me about the library you found, and that it had an abundance of books and tomes. Would any of you like to stay on and lead an expedition to recover all of those books and bring them to this castle?” While several party members were shaking their heads “no” to Karnack’s request, Gwenette spoke up and said, “While I understand how books are quite important to your work as a sage, you must understand that my first loyalty is to my family and my village. I would like to return to my village as quickly as is possible, as I feel my parents are in grave danger from the zombie curse that has befallen them!” Karnack said, “Very well said. I indeed understand.” He did not bring up the subject of the books again after that.

Karnack then mentioned Vox again. “I understand that Vox is too weak to walk. Could someone please describe that foul creature you encountered that struck Vox? And Vox, how did you feel when it struck you?” Lightfoot answered, “The creature was human sized, mostly just a skeleton covered with the disingrated rags of clothes he must have once worn. It also had some bits of flesh still attached to his bones in places.” Vox described that it felt like “an overpowering tingling sensation that caused a moment’s paralysis” when he was struck by the creature. After pondering the matter for a moment, Karnack said, “Hmmmm, I wonder if it was a wight that struck poor Vox. Vox, if it was a wight, and it struck you twice, you are exceedingly lucky to still be alive! You should count your blessings, my boy!”

Karnack then asked the question, “How do you all plan to transport him back to Crystal Shores?” as he pointed at Vox. Some party members suggested that Vox should obtain a horse. Lightstep asked Karnack if he could spare one of the horses from the castle for Vox, but Karnack replied, “I cannot spare any of the horses from my guards, or even any of the work horses. However, I could send an agent to the nearby village of Bridgefields and purchase a horse for Vox. I believe we could get him a light riding horse, a basic saddle, with appropriate tack, for about 40 gold pieces.” So Vox handed over some of his money to Karnack, to make the horse buy happen on the morrow.

Karnack then mentioned how neither he nor his scribes had as of yet been able to decipher the unknown runes on the scroll, but that they had been working on it all day long. Karnack said, “We first need to deteermine what language it is written in, and then we may be able to translate it. As it is now getting very late, my scribes and I will soon retire for the night, but will make a fresh start in the morning. Although you all have been sleeping most of the day, you should all try to get some more rest for the balance of the night.” After that, Karnack dismissed them back to their quarters.

Day #2-31 (Airday, 11th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): It was probably around 3:00 am on 11th Dewsnap before the last party member fell asleep. Tureg, they were told, had still not regained conciousness during their brief meeting with Karnack late in the evening of 10th Dewsnap.

The party all awoke near to 9 o’clock in the morning. They had an exceedingly filling breakfast of hotcakes with bacon, using some honey as a sweetener for the hotcakes. Mostly the party just hung around the castle, although Lightstep and Opalent did go for a short walk outside the castle just after lunch. Falafela also visited the craft room and spoke some more with Makurrh, the tinker at the castle.

Around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, Vox’s new horse arrived from Bridgefields. It was a bay horse, mostly dark brown with black lower legs and mane and tail. It also had a short white stripe on its forehead. It came with a small saddle, and with reins and a bridle and bit. It was stabled in the castle, although Vox was taken to meet the horse and to feed it some carrots.

Shortly thereafter, Tureg awoke from his coma. He sat up and looked around. He appeared to be confused. After a moment, he weakly spoke to the nurse who was attending to him, “Where am I? How did I get here?” The nurse answered, “You went adventuring with some friends. You were gravely injured in battle, and your friends brought your here yesterday morning. You are in the castle of Karnack the Sage.” Tureg then stated, flatly, “I am very thirsty, and a little hungry. May I please have something to eat and drink?” He then laid back down, although he kept his eyes open. The nurse briefly left the room and asked someone outside the room to bring Tureg some hot soup from the kitchen. The nurse then told Tureg, “I sent for some soup. Just wait a couple of moments.” Tureg then gave a little sigh, and closed his eyes, although he did not fall asleep. In a few moments, some hot chicken noodle soup arrived, and the nurse helped him eat.

Just after supper time, Karnack summoned the party (sans Tureg) to his chambers. Karnack sounded cheerful. “I have some good news! We have determined the language on the scroll. It is a derivative of a language that was once used by a vanished race who once lived in the Ghinor area. We believe we will now be able to decipher the scroll, although we have not yet completed that task.” The party’s faces all brightened upon hearing that news, especially those of Flenda and Gwenette. Flenda said, “Karnack, do you have any idea of how long it might take to finish translating the scroll?” Karnack answered, “We are hoping to complete it this evening, but it might not be until tomorrow sometime. I don’t believe it will take us any longer than that.”

Karnack then related, “I have some more good news. Your colleague Tureg has regained conciousness. He was able to eat some soup around supper time.” The party then departed, with Lightstep leading the procession towards Tureg’s chamber. When Lightstep arrived at Tureg’s bedside, Lightstep cast a cure light wounds spell, and it healed the 5 damage points that had been afflicting Tureg.

After sunset, the party had a light snack in the mess hall, then retired for the evening.

(to be continued)

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